Bullpen Continues to Shine as O's Sweep M's

The O’s overcame another shaky start from Daniel “Why the heck would I wanna pitch with a lead?” Cabrera this afternoon and got some late inning heroics from the much maligned Aubrey Huff, to complete the four-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners. The Birds are now tied for the best record in the Majors, and are alone atop the AL East at 5-1. That’s right, B-More.Nearly 4% through the 2008 season, your Baltimore Orioles are alone in first place.

There is no secret that the key to the O’s early success has been the work of the bullpen. Through 6 games, the stats for Orioles pitchers stand as such:

Starters:
32.2 IP
34 H
23 ER
6.34 ERA

Bullpen:
21.1 IP
9 H
2 ER
0.84 ERA

Bullpen (not including Greg Aquino):
21 IP
6 H
0 ER
0.00 ERA

So, O’s fans, raise your glasses to the boys in the bullpen and thank them for the teams’ red-hot start.

The starters will need to get on track though, and in a hurry, if the team wants to continue with any level of success. Jeremy Guthrie stepped up yesterday and went 7 strong innings, which is something he needs to do with regularity as the teams’ appointed “Ace.” Some semblance of consistency from Daniel Cabrera, and the continued maturity (and health) of Adam Loewen are paramount.

Let’s not dwell on shortcomings for now though.The team is exciting and fun to watch.We’re 5-1.We’re in first place.We’re 3 spots ahead of the Yank Offs, and 4 ahead of the Red Sux. It’s a good day to be an O’s fan.